Transversed
by grisabele
Summary: Amara and Ice are a pair of more or less average teenagers with normal, boring lives...until they find themselves sucked into pre SR1 Nosgoth, that is... **COMPLETED**
1. Prologue

Flirting with Vampires is Dangerous to your Health-Prologue

**A/N: ARR I changed the prologue. No more space alien subplot. That's just...too bizarre. Yeah. And I really needed to flesh the prologue out.  
**

I sighed. My old friend Ice had launched into another explanation of a video game. I didn't get it. Some things I just don't get.

My name's Amara Dolan. I'm 15 years old and just out of the 9th grade. So is Ice. We're both kinda tall (though I'm about 2 or 3 inches taller), and we both have really light blond hair. That's where our similarities come crashing to a stop like a car hitting a brick wall at 90 miles an hour. Ice prefers to have her hair long, while my hair has just gotten to an acceptable length for a tomboyish girl (in other words, I'd shaved my head and my hair had just barely grown back). I wear spiked jewelry and black, but not a lot of makeup, and I'm tall, scrawny, and flat-chested. There is not a curve on me. Ice prefers wearing pyramid studs, blue, and tons of makeup. People can't really describe her looks, but she's my height...and she's _curvy._ She's got all the right curves in all the places. Naturally, this means that she has had many more boyfriends than I've had, including the super-hot star of last year's senior class, Rich Hayes. Not that I care, or anything, I mean, I've had a few myself...okay, one. His name was Sawyer, he was Rich Hayes's youngest brother, and he was an asshole. But I'm going off on a tangent. My personality and Ice's are also worlds apart. She's outgoing and peppy and loud and...I'm quiet, mostly, blunt, and sarcastic. And when Ice gets angry, she bottles it all up but I let whoever I'm upset at have it, exploding in their face like a human Mount Saint Helens. I'm surprised we're even friends, Ice and I, since we're so different. I'm surprised I'm friends with anybody. See, I've always been...intuitive. I read tarot and I'm almost always right, I can sense ghosts, I've had premonitions and I can do a tiny bit of telekinesis. I don't know why. I'm the only one in my family who can do any of that. Because of that, lots of people are creeped out by me. Except Ice and Sawyer. Ice has a taste for the bizarre and the supernatural, and I'm not entirely sure _why _Sawyer isn't as creeped out by me as his Rich is. It must have something to do with being an idiot and an asshole, though.

Anyway, that day we were wearing our favorite outfits: Ice was wearing a blue tanktop, short shorts, and ankle boots, and I was wearing a black tube top, a spiked collar, big baggy jeans, and a pair of combat boots. I loved that tube top. It made me feel like I was defying everyone's idea of what flat-chested girls should wear. Come to think of it, I probably was...

I'm going off on a tangent again. Where was I? Oh yes. Ice had just launched into an in-depth plot analysis of a new favorite game of hers. I think it was called _Soul Reaver_ or _Soul Raider_ or something like that. I was smiling and nodding, going along with it, but I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched by something or someone. This was different from sensing a ghost...Ice's house was much too new to be haunted. She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the look on my face.

"What is it? Ghost? Demon? Satan himself?"

A chill went down my spine. Whatever was watching could well be Satan himself.

"I feel like we're being watched..."

"Yeah?" Ice said, "That's creepy."

I never did get to reply, because in the next instant I felt a strong hand clamp down on my arm and pull, dragging me into the very fabric of space and time...


	2. Chapter I

**Chapter One- Raziel**

Ice and I landed flat on our butts in a place full of Gothic architecture, where the sun was blotted out by smoke. Standing nearby was a group of men in armor, armed with all kinds of nasty weapons, a few of which looked like blowtorches.

"Look!" cried one.

"Kill the heretics that fell from the sky!"

Not our day, was it? Anyways, Ice and I started to run. Really fast. But alas, we tripped! And the men surrounded us. I stood up and ran, somehow breaking their ranks. Ice was irritated, and she started to shout obscenities at me.

"Come back, you damned chicken!" was the best of them.

_I'm running for help!_ I screamed mentally at her. To my shock, I heard her reply.

"Run faster, then!!" So I did.

That was when I ran into someone who would change my life...and Ice's...forever. Literally ran into him, by the way. We both fell over. He stood up and turned around.

"He" was a tall, pale man with longish black hair and yellow, cat-like eyes.

"Get out of my way, you idiot!" I said, before I could stop myself. He glared down at me, then picked me up by the collar and held me at eye level with him.

"What did you call me?" he asked, his voice soft and deadly as a snake's. As he spoke, I noticed that he had a pair of fangs. _Oh joy,_ I thought. _My day gets better and better...he's a vampire!_


	3. Chapter II

**Chapter 2: Raziel**

"Answer me!" he said, tightening his grip.

"...Idiot..." I mumbled, timidly.

He narrowed his eyes. "Hm. You're fairly obidient, but...whose are you?"

"Huh?"

"Whom do you belong to?" he repeated, deadly soft.

I was too taken about by his question to answer. Irritated, he grabbed my wrist and yanked up to his face. I squeezed my eyes shut and started praying.

_Please God, don't let him kill me. I'll be good, really. I won't let Ice drink anymore. I won't drink anymore. I'll go to church. Really, I will-_

"Why don't you have a clan symbol on your arm?" the vampire snarled, interrupting my train of thought. "And..."

He paused there and took in my appearance. "And why...are you dressed so strangely?"

At this, I took offense. I mean, that vampire was wearing what must've been the tightest black leather pants known to man, no shirt, cheesy shoulder armor and a red cape...and he said _I _was dressed strangely.

"Look," I snapped, "I'm not from these parts. My friend and I have somehow ended up here and all we'd like to do is go home."

"Where is your-"

"_Amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaara!_" Ice squealed. She was followed by about six of the men with flamethrowers, and man, were they catching up.

"That would be her, then?" the vampire said with curiosity.

"Yes it would," I answered, wishing he'd let go of my spiked collar. But the vampire was too busy staring at Ice. _Great, _I thought, _Just what Ice needs—a scary bloodsucking boyfriend._

He dropped me all of a sudden and strode toward the men and Ice. At once, the men took a defensive stance.

The vampire appeared to be staring them all down. One fired an arrow at the vampire, who easily caught it and snapped it in two. He advanced on the men. The closer he came, the more they backed down...until...

"Run!" said the one who must have been the leader, "He's a lieutenant! We can't take him."

The others nodded, and scattered. Meanwhile, the vampire, with a little smirk, took Ice by the hand and walked her to me. _Oh, joy. They're smitten with one another already._

Ice pulled me aside all of a sudden. "Hey, thanks for getting _that _guy to help."

"Hey, no problem," I said, rather depressed. If Ice noticed, she didn't say anything. She pranced right back over to Mr. Kill-You-Now-Ask-Questions-Later-Vampire and introduced herself. Then she pranced back over to me. "His name is Raziel. He wants to know what your name is."

"Tell him to fuck off."

"Somehow, I don't think he'd take that too well."

"Oh, what's he gonna do? Tear my spine out with a rusty bread knife?"

"Don't tempt me," muttered a voice behind me. I whipped around and found Raziel standing behind me, arms crossed, glaring down at me. "We'll get along a _lot _better if you cooperate, so what's your name?"

"Amara. Amara Dolan."

"Thank you...Amara."


	4. Chapter III

**Chapter 3**

Raziel took Ice's hand and led her straight ahead. "Come on, Ice."

"Amara, you coming?" Ice called.

_No, I'm going to stay here and let the vampires get me._

Rolling my eyes, I followed them. For some reason, I didn't feel much like being made a meal of.

Raziel led us toward a gate with red banners on it. He pushed it open and led us into a bustling vampire city.

"All Kain's lieutenants have a clan." Raziel said. "This is my clan you see here," he added, a little bit of pride in his voice.  
"Who's Kain?" I asked, stupidly.  
"The big boss vampire!" said Ice.  
"Oh..and who are the lieutenants?"  
"Raziel and hisfive brothers!"  
"...Man, and I thought _I_ had it bad with just one. Say, how d'you know all this anyways, Ice?"  
"Remember that game I was explaining to you? Remember how it was set in _Nosgoth_?"  
"Yup, sure do..."  
"Well, Amara...apparently, Nosgoth is a real alternate reality, and somebody transported us here."  
"You mean we landed in your freaking _video game?"_ I didn't like what I was hearing.

"Duh." Ice said it as if she were explaining that 22 4 to me. "Anyways, count your blessings. We could've ended up in a much worse game."

"Oh yeah? Name one."

"Silent Hill."

She had a point.

We followed Raziel to a large castle, complete with turrets, arrow slits in the towers, and a drawbridge. He gave some sort of signal, and the drawbridge lowered.

"Paranoid much?" I muttered under my breath.

"No," Raziel said calmly, "But I figured that if the drawbridge came with the castle, there was no point in not using it."

He led us through a courtyard, through a set of double doors and into the main room. There was a double staircase in front of us, with a hallway branching to either side. There was someone standing between them, partially obscured by the darkness. Whoever it was had glowing green eyes, and Raziel wasn't too pleased about said individual's presence in his castle.

"Dragon..." he muttered, "Come out where I can see you..."

"But you _can _see me," the voice belonging to the green eyes (and it was female) taunted. "It's those little human girls you have with you who can't see me, and why do they need to?"

"Humor me..." Raziel snarled. The woman laughed and obeyed him.

She was very tall, thin, and wiry, wearing black leggings and a matching tunic. Her har, too was black, shoulder-length parted neatly in the center. But what was most striking about her was the fact that she had _wings._ They were huge, with red-tinged black feathers. She was smirking.

"What's your business here?" Raziel did not appear to be amused. At all. That woman, Dragon, laughed.

"Kain's business."

"That's no kind of--"

"He's amused you've taken them under your wing...and he is interested in the taller..."

"Dragon...stop talking in riddles" Raziel warned. She laughed.

"If you can't figure it out, that's your problem."

"Dragon..."

"And now I suppose you want me to leave?" she purred. Raziel didn't move. "Very well. I'll go..." She strode toward the door, smirking as she left.

"God, I hate her..." Raziel muttered, "Always sticking her nose where she doesn't belong...just because she's Kain's little lackey...oh, she'll get hers someday..." He paused and looked back at us, paying particular attention to Ice. "Well...er...let's go to the parlor."

"_You _have a parlor?" I blurted out before I could stop myself. I mean, when I think of parlors, I think of the sunlight shining through open windows into a tastefully decorated room that has a card table (with a bowl of hard candies on it, of course) in it where people in the Victorian Era would hang out. I don't think of dark, dreary castles and vampires.

"Of course I do, Amara," Raziel said patiently, "Follow me."

"_You are certain Raziel has them, Dragon?" _

"_I saw them with my own eyes, though, begging your pardon, Milord..."_

"_Say 'My Lord', Dragon, don't slur your words the way **she** did."_

"_Forgive me. Anyways...begging your pardon, MY Lord...I would not waste my time with the taller one...you should go after the other one."_

"_Dragon?"_

"_Yes, Mi—My Lord?"_

"_Don't presume to tell me what I should do."_

Raziel's parlor was...not quite what I had always imagined a parlor would be, but it was somewhat cozy. He even had a fire going. Apparently, just because you're undead doesn't mean you want to have a cozy parlor with a fireplace. Whatever that meant. Raziel and Ice sat next to each other on a loveseat while I sat opposite them in a rather large, overstuffed chair. I was still piecing together what was going on. So Ice and I were in a video game, Kain found us amusing...in fact, Kain's name seemed to pop up a lot around here. I pondered that for a minute...and then it hit me.

"EUREEEEEEEEEEEEEEKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" I shrieked as I jumped out of the chair. Raziel stared at me.

"Eu...reka?"

"What did you figure out, Amara?" Ice didn't seem too pleased that I'd interrupted her near-romantic moment with Raziel.

"Okay. We land in your favorite video game, right, Ice?"

"Riiiiiiiiiight..."

"Well, Kain's name keeps popping up, right? And apparently he's the boss and from what that Dragon chick said...well, I bet Kain has some answers." I looked at Raziel. "Where do I find him?"

"At the Pillars...you're not going, are you?" Raziel snapped, jumping up and blocking the door.

"Well, yeah, I was planning on paying him a visit..."

"Do you want to die?" Raziel asked me. He was very serious. "Because that's what's going to happen to you if you barge in on Kain unannounced. And chances are you won't even make it THAT far..."

Oh yeah. I hadn't factored in the vampires who wouldn't have any qualms about making a meal of me.

"Besides," Raziel continued, "I havefive brothers. You wouldn't stand a chance against them."

_Damn, I hate it when I don't think of these things ._

"Well, name 'em for me," I suggested, "Maybe that way I'll know how to avoid 'em." I looked over at Ice. "You wanna come?"

"No," she answered quietly, "I'd rather not go out there without Raziel."

I sighed. "Fine. Raziel? Your brothers?"

"I can't believe you're serious..." he muttered. He stepped away from the door and crossed his arms. "Let's see...you'll be passing through my territory almost exclusively...however...you may end up going through my brother Dumah's territory. You'll want to watch out for him."

"Oh?"

"He's...a bit of an empty-headed brute, to put it nicely...anyways, his clan banners are purple."

"Okay. What about the others?" I really wanted to get out of there and find out how to get home. For God's sake, school was starting in two weeks...and the thought of missing the first day was almost unthinkable...sure, I'd skip the second day of school...but the first day of school is something sacred...

"All right...after me, the eldest is Turel. His banners are green. I already warned you about Dumah...after him is Rahab. His banners are teal. And then there's Zephon. Avoid him at all costs, he is not to be trusted. His banners are gray. And lastly there is Melchiah. His banners are yellow."

"Great." I turned around and headed for the door.

"Wait!" Raziel commanded. He yanked a spear off of the wall and handed to me. "Take that with you. Somehow it doesn't seem right to send you out there unarmed. And don't kill anyone I like!"


	5. Chapter IV

**Chapter 4**

_I can't believe Raziel let me go out here by myself, _I thought as I ran from yet another hungry vampire. Apparently my lack of a clan symbol tattoo on my wrist (all of the humans I'd seen here had one) meant that I was the vampire equivalent to Easy Mac. Brilliant. I ran behind a statue and put my back up to it, hoping she wouldn't find me. I held the spear Raziel had given me close.

It occurred to me that I had no idea where I was. Well, okay, I knew I was in some vampire town. What I would have given for my old Girl Scout compass. I added not knowing where I was to my list of problems while I tried to not tremble in sheer terror. Cautiously, I peered around the statue. The coast seemed clear. I took one step...and another. _Whew, _I thought, _That was cl-_

"Well, hello..."

_Dammit! _

The vampire was standing right in front of me. She was short, and voluptuous, and her black hair was insanely long, and she didn't even bother to pull it back. How did she keep it from getting caught on something when she was chasing some poor, almost defenseless human?

"Uhm...hello...nice evening for a walk..." I figured it was a good idea to stall her.

"Isn't it though?" she responded with a smirk. She was eyeing me, as if figuring out which recipe for blood she would use for me. I found myself wondering if she'd give the leftovers to her dog. If she even had one.

"Now then..." she said calmly, readying herself for the attack. She paused when she saw the spear. "Where did you get that?"

"Raziel."

"Don't lie."

"I'm not..." I said quietly.

She narrowed her eyes. Clearly, she didn't believe me. Without thinking, I turned around and ran again. Some vampires gave up if their meals decided to run, and I seriously hoped the one who was after me was one of them. I dashed blindly through the dark streets, praying that there weren't any more hungry vampires around. I might be able to outrun one short, heavy vampire, but if a bigger, leaner one went after me...I'd be toast.

I heard running water and ran for it, remembering something about vampires not liking running water. It turned out to be a narrow irrigation ditch, but I figured I should be safe. I ran through it, turned around and stared at the vampire. She was smirking, and she had her hands on her hips. Terrified, I hurled the spear at her...

And missed by about five feet.

She laughed and jumped across the ditch.

"I'm curious...what do you plan on doing now that you have no weapon?" she purred. I ran past her and jumped into the ditch. Maybe you had to be _in _the water for it to ward off the vampire. At this, the vampire narrowed her eyes.

"You think that's going to stop me, little girl?" she snarled, reaching for me. I instinctively splashed some of the water into her face in an attempt to distract her so that I could try to get away. I certainly wasn't expecting for her face to start burning off.

At first, she was too surprised to react. I splashed her again, and again, ignoring the fact that she was flailing her arms in an attempt to grab hold of my neck and screaming fit to wake the dead.

_Ha, wake the dead. _

After a few good splashes the vampire fell face first into the ditch, where she began to dissolve. Actually, fizz like a shaken bottle of Coke is a more accurate description of what was happening to the vampire.

"Eeew! Ewewewewewewew!" I jumped out and stared at the vampire...or what was left of her, and it occurred to me that I'd killed a sentient being, and amazingly, I felt bad about it...even if she HAD been trying to kill me. I backed away slowly...and out of nowhere, someone grabbed me by my collar, swung me around and shoved me into the wall of a nearby house.

My assailant was roughly seven feet tall, and built like one of those scary bodybuilders. He was also dressed like Raziel.

As he lowered his eyes to meet mine, my stomach did a slow somersault. This vampire was clearly not to be trifled with.

"That was clever..." he growled... "But I am wondering what you were doing out here, alone, with one of Raziel's spears..."

"H—how do you know it's his?" I stuttered.

"Because I gave it to him."

Oh. That explained a lot.

"Well...uh...he...gave it...to me..."

"Why would he give a weapon to a little human like you?"

Great. Somehow, I doubted he'd believe my story. I also figured he'd know if I was lying. We stood there, eye-to-eye for what seemed like forever. Then he spoke.

"How did you get that spear, girl?" The vampire seemed to be getting angry...

"Oh, you wouldn't believe me, even if I told you," I said quietly.

"Try me."

"Well, I'm not from...this place...and someone took my friend and I from our home and stranded us here...and Raziel found us and took us to his keep, and then I wanted to go find Kain and ask him to send us back and Raziel gave me that spear so I could defend mys-"

"Hm. You're right," the vampire interrupted, "I _don't _believe you." His claws were digging into my shoulders. His eyes were fixed on mine...and something in his expression changed...

"Haven't we met before?" he asked me.

"That would be impossible. I've never been to this place in my life."

"You must have been," the vampire insisted. "No one else here has your face."

"I can't have met you before!" I shrieked, "I don't even know your name!"

His grip on my shoulders relaxed a bit. "Dumah," he said softly, "So what's your name?"

"A—Amara. Amara Dolan."

"I've heard that name before..." Dumah said softly, "But...from where...?"

He released my shoulders entirely. "I think you had better come with me," he said finally.

"Huh? Why?"

"I would prefer not to let you out of my sight until I know exactly where it is that we've met before."

With that, he grabbed my arm and led me away...


	6. Chapter V

**Chapter Five**

"So, tell me about yourself, Amara," Dumah said casually as he dragged me through his palace.

That took me aback. "Well...there's really nothing to tell..."

"Of course there is. You're dressed strangely, you're getting enough to eat...your master must favor you. Although I don't know why he let you cut your hair."

"Dumah," I said patiently, "I don't _have _a master. Where I come from, vampires don't exist and there hasn't been slavery for 140 years. At least, not legally."

He paused. "No vampires? Then...who runs the place? Certainly not..."

"Yes, Dumah," I interrupted, " Humans run everything where I come from."

He looked me up and down. "You can't be serious."

I nodded.

"And I'm sure the place you come from is in a sorry state. Humans just aren't fit to rule."

I chose to ignore that remark. Although..he had a point.

"Have you been married off by now?" Dumah asked casually, trying to resume conversation.

"WHAT?" I stopped walking and Dumah nearly yanked my arm out of the socket. He turned to face me.

"You look like you're old enough to bear children. When our human girls get to that age, we marry them off to other humans. That way our slave supply doesn't run out. Didn't they ever teach you where babies come from?" he finished with a sly grin.

If I hadn't valued my life, I would have said something sarcastic. Instead, I gritted my teeth. "Yes, Dumah, they did. But where I come from, people don't usually get married until they reach their twenties. Or thirties, even. Some never even get married." I decided to leave out the whole gay marriage controversy. Although I was willing to bet that Dumah would find that amusing. He was already roaring with laughter at the idea that some humans don't get married.

He led me up a winding staircase, and down a hallway lined with suits of armor. He kept them in very good condition, and I wondered...

"Is this your prized antique collection?"

"And what if it was?"

"I was just curious."

I wouldn't have pegged Dumah as a collector.

He finally led me to a small bedroom, and I began to feel uneasy.

"Your room?" I asked nervously. He chuckled.

"No. This is _your _room."

"Oh." That made me feel a little better, anyway.

"You'll be following my schedule from now on," Dumah informed me. "You will wake at sunset and you will go to sleep at dawn."

"You're kidding, right?" I exclaimed, "I can't--"

"Oh...you will now," Dumah said, "And I won't hear another word about it."

I wanted to scream, mostly because I had been uprooted from my comfortable, _normal _life, because I had been taken from where I was safe(r), because I wanted to go _home._

"How long until dawn?" I muttered.

Dumah walked over to the window and peeked through the curtains.

"Four or five hours. Plenty of time for us to...ah, get to know one another."

And that made me more nervous than I'd been so far.

Dumah looked away from the window and caught the look on my face. "Goodness, girl!" he laughed, "We're going to a sitting room to talk. What did you think I meant, you silly thing?"

I wasn't sure what I thought he meant, either, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't something wholesome.

Dumah's sitting room was more like an ornate throne room, complete with a red carpet leading to a marble throne. Dumah sat in the throne, eyes fixed on me while I told him everything about myself.

"Fifteen? You're fifteen?"

"Yes."

"...the woman I remember...was older..." Dumah murmured, "Do you have an older sister?"

"No. And if I did, why would she come here?" I asked.

He ignored me. "Your mother? Does-"

"I don't look anything like my mother." And it's true, I don't. My mother is a short, stocky, dark-haired woman with a square jaw. I am, as I've mentioned before, tall and fair.

Dumah shook his head. "I can't believe this. Maybe it was just some dream. Although I don't know why I'd remember meeting you as if it had really happened, if it was a dream.."

"I thought vampires didn't dream, I mean, in the myths where I come from--"

"I don't know where the humans where you come from got the idea that vampires don't dream," Dumah said, "Of course we do. Sometimes," he added as an afterthought.

I didn't know what to say. Hell, I didn't even know what to think. Here was this vampire, this terrifying vampire, who clearly was the "tough guy" of all his brothers, wanting to know why he might've dreamed of someone who looked like me, and here I was, unable to answer him.

"Yo--she looked so sad," he murmured.

"Who?"

"That woman who looks like you," he said, "The way I remember her, she was sad. Crying, even."

He shook his head again. "The question is...what do I do with you now?"

"Let me go to the Pillars," I said, "I...need to speak with Kain, and Raziel said he would be there..."

"Not yet," Dumah replied, "Although..he may have the answers I'm seeking."

"So, I'm still your prisoner, then?"

"Oh, now, now, I wouldn't say that," Dumah laughed, "You intrigue me, little one. Even if I don't know why I know you, or someone very much like you...why I remember...and I do want to know more about where you come from."

He stood up and left the throne, headed for a window, and peeked out through the curtains.

"Nearly dawn already."

"Already?"

He nodded. "Come on, I'll show you back to your room. Tomorrow, we'll discuss your homeland further."

I followed him, mutely, back up the winding staircase, back down the hallway lined with the old suits of armor, and back to my room.

"Sleep well, Amara."

He left, then, closing the door behind him. A split second later, I heard the unmistakable click of a lock.

_Great. And here he was assuring me that I wasn't his prisoner._


	7. Chapter VI

**Chapter 6**

I...was..._furious_. I was furious with Dumah for having lied to me, but I was also furious with myself for not having listened to Raziel.

"I should've stayed there," I said to myself, "Why am I always so pigheaded?" I stormed over to my bed and punched the pillow, imagining that it was Dumah. It didn't really make me feel better.

I heard the lock click...and the door opened slowly. I stood up, wondering who it was. There was a girl about my age peeking into the room, but she was so _tiny! _She was clean, more or less, and she wore clothes that were in decent shape, but she was probably thin enough to make a runway model jealous. She looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and fear. Already a plan was forming in my head.

_I can take her._

She opened her mouth to say something and I shoved her into the wall and ran past her like I had a fleet of tanks behind me...she hadn't locked the door right away, and I opened it and started running down the hallway. Almost at once she started screaming.

"My Lord! My Lord!"

_Oh, God... _I tried to ignore her and just kept on running.

Then I heard the sound of someone running behind me. I slowed down enough to turn my head...and that girl was chasing me. _Holy crap. Someone had her Wheaties for breakfast. _

I was feeling somewhat daring, so instead of taking the hallway to the spiral staircase that led to the entrance and Dumah's throne room, I decided to take the hallway to the left of it. I couldn't hear that girl chasing me anymore. I hadn't heard her fall, or cry out in pain. I hoped she was all right...mostly because if she had been harmed chasing me, I'm sure Dumah would've had my head. I continued running, hoping I wouldn't run into any of Dumah's clan, or worse, Dumah himself...

I turned a corner and collided with someone in the hallway. I was knocked to the floor from the impact, but whoever I had run into remained standing.

"Well, now...how did you get out?" purred what was unmistakably Dumah. I groaned and shook my head.

"You're not going to tell me, child?"

I just stared up at him. He wasn't wearing his armor or cape now. I wondered if perhaps I'd caught him right as he'd been getting ready to go to sleep. Since I was still sitting on the ground, he towered over me even more, and the look of amusement on his face didn't make me feel any more at ease.

"Very well." He bent over and threw me over his shoulder, by then, I was too afraid to move, to speak even.

_I'm dead...this is it..._

I squeezed my eyes closed...Dumah was walking for what seemed like quite a distance, then he stopped.

"Esiel," he said quietly, "You went to her room, didn't you? To see how she was as I instructed?"

I realized that he was talking to that slave girl of his.

"Well...I didn't lock the door when I came in," she admitted in a quiet voice, "I've never seen someone as well-taken care of as she is. And I wanted to ask how she was and she shoved me into the wall and got out...I'm very sorry, My Lord..."

I waited for the sound of flesh hitting flesh, hearing her hit the floor, hearing retribution. Instead, Dumah said nothing, but seemed to brush her aside and continue walking.

"Then...there will be no punishment, My Lord?" she asked quietly as Dumah departed. She must have raised her voice, but even so, I could barely hear her. Dumah stopped again. "No," he said, "Her escape wasn't your fault." Then he continued on down the hall. Finally, we reached a room. He opened the door, and I opened my eyes, figuring that I might as well see how I was going to be.

I wasn't expecting to be back in "my" room. Now I was worried. Dumah wouldn't...would he?

He casually tossed me back onto the bed, but didn't approach it. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked down at me.

"You've got to behave yourself, girl," he said, "I'll admit, it was clever of you to try to escape...but..." He stopped speaking, suddenly eyeing me in such a way that made me wonder what exactly he was thinking. "You...are going to need a change of clothes. Something more...feminine."

My jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Feminine? I can't wear--"

"While you are with me, you will dress as I tell you to."

"I'm not one of your little slaves, Dumah, I will not--"

Dumah burst out laughing. "No, but the rules here are different. I am one Kain's lieutenants, and you are a human, and you will do as I say, is that clear?"

I sighed and nodded. There was no winning with that guy! He laughed again, and turned to leave.

"Wait...before you go...why did you lock the door? Why did you tell me I'm not a prisoner and then lock the door?"

"You aren't a prisoner," Dumah said, still with a laugh in his voice, "You're...more like a guest. A guest under house arrest. You wouldn't want to wander outside without me and get yourself killed, would you?"

He had a point, loathe as I was to admit it.

"See, I thought you'd agree with me", he purred when he saw the look on my face, "Now, then, the sun is coming up, and I'm sure you're quite tired, and I would like to get some rest myself." He walked out and locked the door behind him, leaving me alone again.


	8. Chapter VII

**Chapter Six**

I finally fell into a dreamless sleep. When I opened my eyes again, Dumah was standing over me. "Well, then, get up, girl, we've much to do." I grudgingly sat up.

"Like what?" I sighed.

"I told you, we're going to get you a change of clothes!" he said. Then he grabbed my wrist and led me down yet another hallway.

"Your castle is like a labyrinth," I groaned. Dumah chuckled, but said nothing. He reached a pair of double doors, knocked three times, then pushed them open. Inside this lavishly-furnished room was a small group of beautiful, voluptuous, scantily clad vampire women. Some were lounging on chaises, others on lovely plush velvet chairs, and at least one was seated on the floor. There were other doors and halls in this room. Clearly, these women had a whole section of the castle devoted to them.

They looked up when Dumah and I entered and immediately swarmed around us.

"You never come see us anymore..."

"Do we bore you, my Lord?"

"Oh, what an adorable little human! Is she a new favorite of yours?"

"Ooo, look how strangely she's dressed!"

Dumah laughed and waved them all away. "She's not a new favorite. I do want her to have decent clothing, though. So I'm trusting you ladies to take care of that. I'll be back in a half-hour." He turned to leave, then stopped and turned around. "If any harm comes to her, I will punish all of you."

His harem nodded as he left. Then they focused back on me. It was then that I noticed I stood a full head taller than most of them. Clearly, Dumah liked his women petite.

"She's so tall," one sighed. The others nodded.

"She's so flat!" another one giggled.

"And her hair is so mannish!"

"Are you sure you're really a woman?" a particularly attractive blonde said quietly.

"Yes..."

"I think we should find out," she said, reaching for my belt. I smacked her.

"Don't!"

"Well, you're going to have to take them off anyway," another harem-vampire pointed out, "So you might as well strip down now."

"Wait," one of the women said. She was the prettiest, she was wearing the least clothing, and she wore the most jewelry, so I imagined that she was in charge of the harem when Dumah wasn't around. I later found out that her name was Eph. "Let's get some things out for her, and she can change then." The others shrugged. Then they all dragged me to a different area entirely. This was where they all slept. There were no windows...but there was a large mural on one wall, and in the far corner stood an ornate wardrobe. Eph opened it and started digging through it.

"It'll be hard to find her anything. She's much taller than most of us..."

"And straighter," said what must have been Eph's second-in-command.

"This will be fun," said a taller brunette, "Like dressing a doll."

"She has a doll face," said the vampire standing next to her, "I bet that's why Dumah likes her so much. I bet she just sits still like a little doll and lets him do whatever he wants to her when he--"

"I'm a _virgin_!" I blurted out before I could stop myself. The entire harem burst into laughter.

"Well, I doubt you'll be that way for too long with Dumah around!"

"Yes, and then he'll turn you and you'll be down here with us!"

_God, I hope not, _I thought.

They continued to banter for what seemed like forever while I stayed silent, thinking of what Dumah could possibly want with me.

Finally, Eph found something. "A-ha!" she said as she tossed a plain blue dress at me. I held it up, staring skeptically at it. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope. Try it on."

"Right now?"

The harem burst into laughter again. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about," said the blonde who'd tried to remove my clothes, "We all have the same parts. Unless you really are a man."

"Of course I'm not!" I snapped.

Within 30 seconds I was taken out of my old clothes by roughly nine pairs of hands and put into the dress. They hurried me over to a mirror. I was surprised to find out that the dress didn't look half-bad on me. It was a little baggy around the chest and it ended below my knees, but other than that, it wasn't bad.

"Ooo. She does look more like a woman now," purred the blonde woman

"I only wish I could've found more," Eph sighed. "I'll keep looking. Dumah will be back soon." I nodded and returned to the front room with the others. I heard two knocks, then Dumah entered. He found me at once and stared at me.

"Such a plain garment."

"It was all that would fit, my Lord," Eph apologized, "She's nowhere near our shape or size..."

"Be silent unless I speak to you."

Eph nodded and backed away from Dumah.

"Was that all you could find, Eph?"

She nodded. "But I will continue to look, my Lord. I am certain there will be other things that will fit her.

"Very well." Dumah looked irritated. He grabbed my arm and led me away, which was a relief and cause to worry at the same time.

"You are all right?" he asked when we were headed toward his throne room. I nodded.

"Good. Now, then...we have much to discuss."

I nodded, and took my seat across from him as I had the day before. We spent all night talking about good old Earth and comparing it to Nosgoth, pausing only when Dumah needed to feed. That wasn't too horrible. He left the room and was careful to clean the blood off of his mouth. For some reason, I doubted that his intention was to do any harm to me, or to intimidate me, because if it was, surely he would've fed in front of me.

Finally, Dumah went to the window and peered through the curtains. "Nearly dawn. Come along, child."

Without speaking, I followed him back to my room. Before he left, Dumah paused to take in my appearance.

"I do like that dress better than what you were wearing," he said quietly. His hand brushed mine for a minute, then he turned to leave.

"You won't try to escape, will you?" he asked before he reached the door.

"No."

He nodded, and didn't lock the door. I flopped down onto the bed and closed my eyes.

"I wonder if Ice is all right?"

Then I laughed. Raziel seemed very attracted to her, and she'd thought this whole "oh-wow-we-got-sucked-into-my-game!" thing was cool anyways. She was probably having so much more fun than I had, so far. She was probably one of Raziel's favorite harem girls by now.

I giggled, imagining Ice wearing little clothing and vast amounts of jewelry. She'd love that.

Then I thought of Dumah. Was what his harem said true? Could he be trying to groom me for life as one of his pets? _He'd be disappointed in me, then, _I thought. Still, I found myself wondering what it would be like for one of his favorites. Would he be gentle then, as he was now, or was that all an act?

I sighed and rolled over. "Just chill," I said out loud, "Just chill. Roll with the punches. See how things turn out, because you sure as hell aren't going home anytime soon."


	9. Chapter VIII

**Chapter VIII**

I can't say that the time I spent with Dumah was altogether unpleasant. After the first few days I got more used to his presence...and he did treat me pretty well. So, one day, when I was feeling bold, I asked him if we could go to Raziel's territory so that I could see Ice. Dumah laughed. "We'll see."

_Kain paced around his study. He was trying to figure out exactly how he was going get those girls into his clutches. Or, rather, get that that _girl _into his clutches_. _He didn't really care what happened to Ice, in fact, he'd been hoping she'd have been killed so he wouldn't have to go through her to get to Amara. But that wasn't important now. What was important was figuring out where those girls were. Dragon had disappeared again, and he'd had no contact with her. Oh, he hated when she did that. _

_It was at the exact moment Kain was pondering how long to imprison Dragon for that he heard a knock at his study door. Annoyed, he unsheathed the Soul Reaver and opened the door, intending to rend whoever was on the other side limb from limb. After all, he'd told all of his servants and guards he didn't want to be disturbed..._

_When he saw that he was about to kill Dragon, he put the sword away at once and ushered her inside. "Where have you been?"_

"_That isn't important."_

_Kain sighed, not being in the mood to deal with Dragon. "Do you know where those girls are?"_

"_I do," Dragon purred._

"_Good. Where are they?"_

"_One is with Dumah. He appears to favor her, as she is still alive, not in servitude, oh, and...he's dressing her in some of his brides' clothes."_

"_Which girl, Dragon? Surely it is not...not the boyish one."_

"_Oh, it _**is **_the boyish one, Milord." Dragon smiled, working her best to contain her laughter at the expression on Kain's face. For a split second, he was shocked, but then he regained his composure._

"_Very well." Kain took a seat near a bookshelf. "It is my understanding that Rahab is having a party in a few days?"_

"_That is correct," Dragon affirmed with a nod. "It's at his other palace. The one where Vorador's mansion used to be."_

"_I see." Kain smirked. "Make sure all of his brothers go. And make sure that Dumah has that girl with him."_

"_Are you not interested in the other girl, Kain? She is with another of your sons."_

"_Which?"_

"_Raziel."_

_Kain sighed again. "Fine. Ensure that she comes, too." He nodded and gestured for Dragon to leave._

Finally, Dumah gave into my requests to visit Raziel's territory, saying "You're very lucky I like you" in a good-natured tone of voice.

"What if you didn't like me?" I asked, giggling.

"You wouldn't be laughing," Dumah replied with a smirk. We both laughed then, and, for a moment, we were quiet, staring at one another. Dumah gently reached out and brushed a stray hair out of my face...but he let his hand linger on my cheek for a little while.

"Dumah...?"

"Oh...right," he said, quickly moving his hand away from my face. At once, he looked away from me.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, Amara," Dumah said quickly. "We...had better get to the stables."

I nodded and followed him back to the stables. A servant of Dumah's had readied a gray horse for us.

"I'll assume you know how to ride a horse, Amara? Or don't they have horses where you're from?"

"They have horses," I said slowly, "But I've never actually ridden--" Before I could finish that sentence, Dumah had effortlessly climbed up onto the horse and hoisted me up so that I was sitting in front of him.

"Well, then, Amara. Today seems like a good day for you to do it. Hold on tightly." Then he tugged on the reins and the horse sped off toward Raziel's territory. Terrified, I held on to Dumah for dear life as the horse galloped (at least, it felt like a gallop to me) over the terrain. It was then that I decided that A- If by some circumstance Dumah ended up in my world, he was never going to be allowed anywhere near a car, and B- Horses were officially my least favorite mode of transportation...after airplanes.

When we arrived, a stable boy took the horses from us and two guards escorted us to Raziel's throne room. I had seen part of Raziel's palace before, but the hallway leading to his throne room was unfamiliar. It was lavishly decorated and his clan banners hung from the ceiling. At the end of the hallway was a pair of gilded double doors with two guards posted on either side. They stiffened when they saw us coming and pulled the doors open.

The throne room was empty save for two figures seated in black marble thrones. I recognized one as Raziel, and the other...the other was Ice! She looked regal in a long gown and exquisite ruby jewelry. She stood up and ran toward me, smiling broadly.

"You're safe!" she cried as she hugged me.

"Yes, yes I am," I said. She laughed and looked around. Her eyes landed on Dumah at once.

"Heeey...who's that guy that came in with you? He's a good-looking fella..."

"That's Dumah," I said, "And he--"

"Omigosh! Dumah? He didn't kill you?"

"He tried," I said quietly, "But he didn't...because he says that he knows me from somewhere..."

"Weird." Ice said simply. Then she asked why I came. I told her it was to see her, and she smiled.

"I appreciate your concern!" She smiled again, and added "I wanted to find you, too, but I had no idea where to find you, and Raziel wouldn't let me leave..."

Dumah put an arm around my shoulder just then. "All right. I think we should be going now..."

"But...but we just...arrived!" I protested. Dumah ushered me into a corner and said in a low whisper:

"Look, Amara...Raziel and I...don't get along. At all. Besides, you know your friend is safe, and wasn't that your purpose for coming?"

"Dumah..."

He sighed. "Very well. We'll stay. Just a for a little while, though."

"Thank you!" I said, hugging him. He seemed surprised, but returned the hug.

At that moment, the doors to Raziel's throne room were flung open, and in sauntered that woman with wings I had seen earlier..

_Dragon?_

She smirked. "Well, isn't it a surprise to see you two in the same room," she drawled, motioning to Dumah and Raziel, "Considering what happened the last time you two were together..."

Raziel narrowed his eyes. "What is your business here?"

"Have you come to antagonize us?" Dumah added.

"No, I'm on business," Dragon said, still smirking, "You two, and your little _humans_..." Dragon's voice dripped with contempt.

"What about us?" Dumah snarled.

"You two are required to attend Rahab's little...gathering in three days. As are those humans."

"And if we decline?"

"You won't. Because Kain will be...upset if you don't..."

"I see," Raziel said, wryly.

"So," Dragon purred, "Be there."


	10. Chapter IX

**Chapter IX**

We left Raziel's keep that same day, with Dumah claiming that we needed to go early if he was to have time to prepare himself for travel to Rahab's palace.

"How far away is Rahab's..."

"Much closer than Raziel's abode," Dumah said quietly while he guided the horse around a corner.

"Then why..."

"Raziel and I...do not...get along," Dumah muttered.

"Oh." I decided to not press the matter.

When we finally arrived back at Dumah's keep, the first thing he did was usher me down to the brides' chamber.

"Go ask Eph about getting something to wear to Rahab's party."

"But, Dumah...she's had to tailor so many things for me...it just seems unfair to ask..."

"No buts. Get in there and ask Eph about clothes."

Sighing, I obeyed. When I walked in, the brides were lounging about as usual. A few laughed when they saw me.

"Why, look at you. Still human," drawled one.

"And still tall and boyish," giggled another.

"Still a virgin?" teased the blonde vampire who'd been curious about my gender before.

"Yes," I said proudly.

"Not for long..." laughed another.

"Why are you down here, anyway?" asked another.

"I...Dumah sent me to come see Eph. About a dress for a party Rahab's having..." I was nervous now. These women had promised not to hurt me, but that didn't mean they wouldn't. I suspected they envied me because Dumah spent more time with me.

Just as I thought it might be best to leave, Eph walked in. When she saw me, she smiled.

"Do you need anything, Amara?"

"Uh...yeah, actually. Dumah..wanted...me to come ask about a dress. For Rahab's party."

"Rahab is having another party?" Eph asked, grinning. "And Dumah wants you to go with him?"

"You'd best be careful!" called a redheaded vampire, "Rahab's parties can get...a little out of hand."

I gulped. I'd been to a high school party at the beginning of summer vacation, and a bunch of drunk jocks was bad enough...but drunk vampires? I'd be lucky to get out alive.

"Be quiet," Eph chided the other brides. Then she smiled at me. "I think I may have something we can make some alterations to." She led me to the back closet and pulled out a dress. It was blue, and long, at least, it would have been long on Eph, with a low neck, a fitted waist, and cap sleeves. There was a pattern embroidered on the skirt in silver thread, and all I could do was stare at it. "It's...wow..."

"Why don't we try it on, hm?" Eph said, and before I knew it she'd ushered me behind a modesty screen, and she'd had me try it on. It...didn't fit well, being baggy where all my womanly curves would have gone had I had womanly curves, and the skirt just barely covered my feetm but Eph was still smiling when she saw it.

"A few alterations. It was made for my more...uh, voluptous figure, Miss Amara, but I think that if I have the humans fit it a little closer...maybe lengthen the skirt..."

"What about my lack of cleavage?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Oh, well, we'll be corseting you, you know. It creates the illusion of curves..."

"**_WHAT?_**"

"Oh, Miss Amara, corsets aren't that bad! It's not like we'll be tightlacing you or anything."

Eph eventually sent me out after a long explanation of why corsets are wonderful things. All I could do was shake my head. Eph told me to come back the next evening and she'd have the dress and corset ready for me. I thanked her and walked back upstairs to my own room. To my surprise, Dumah was waiting there for me. He was sitting on the bed, and when he saw me come in, he grinned.

"D-Dumah! What are you doing in here?"

"Thought I'd wait for you here."

"You're not...going to..._do _anything to me, are you?"

"Besides bid you a pleasant sleep?" the vampire chuckled, "Nothing. Were those brides telling you about how I'd deflower you if you weren't careful?" He stood up and pulled me in close. I tensed, wondering what he was about to do...then he simply released me and walked away.

"It's fun to make you nervous, little Amara." He turned and walked away, closing the door behind him.

Exhausted, I flopped down on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next evening, I woke up, got out of bed, and went down to Eph's. She had the dress and corset ready, and she helped me get into the corset, being careful not to pull the laces too tightly, though it was harder to breathe. Then she helped me put on the dress and ushered me to a mirror. What I saw surprised me.

"I...I...I look like a girl!"

"See? I told you corsets were wonderful!"

I wanted to disagree, but...on the other hand, the fact that wearing the corset made me look like less of a stick made me want to agree, too...

"Go show Dumah!" Eph said. She ushered me out of the room, and upstairs into a hallway I hadn't yet seen.

"This is Dumah's domain. Only his brides and closest servants are allowed in here, normally, but since this is a special occasion..."

I swallowed, and my mouth went dry. If Dumah was in a bad mood...

She led me to a set of double doors at the end of the hallway., and knocked four times. After a moment, a young human man answered the door.

"Ah...Eph. And...who is this?"

"This is Amara," Eph said plainly. "She's...a...guest of Dumah's."

The young man nodded. Then he beckoned for Eph and me to come in, and, afterward, he led us into the room, where Dumah sat at a desk, reading an old scroll. The young man cleared his throat.

"My Lord...Eph and..._Amara _are here to see you." Dumah looked up, and smiled. He stood up and calmly walked over to me.

"Well, well, well...that dress is rather becoming on you. You almost look like a woman," he purred. He traced my jawline with a finger and smirked when I flinched. "Still nervous around me, mm? Well, I can't blame you for that, but if I was going to kill you, I'd have done it when I met you." Dumah looked at Eph.

"She looks lovely. Thank you, Eph. You're dismissed." Eph bowed and backed out of the room, while the young man who'd let us in opened the door for her. Dumah looked at him next. "You too. I'd like to speak to Amara in private." The man nodded and left the room. Dumah then turned his attention to me.

"You really do look lovely. I think you'll have difficulty keeping the fledglings away from you in that dress."

I shuddered at the thought. Dumah chuckled.

"There's nothing to worry about, little Amara. You see, I've a gift for you." He walked back over to the desk and opened a drawer. He dug around in it for a minute, and then produced a beautiful pendant. The stone was shaped like a circle, and set in silver, dangling from a chain that was also silver. When Dumah brought the pendant closer, I saw that it was made of amethyst. He carefully draped the pendant over my head, and nodded approvingly.

"This pendant...is attuned to me. It belonged to one of my favorite brides. If you need me, ever, hold that pendant in your hand and will me to come to you." There was a note of sadness in his voice. I decided not to ask what had happened to that bride. Dumah seemed lost in a trance, as if he was remembering that bride. After a minute, he came back to the present and looked me in the eye. "I've only ever genuinely cared about two women since my creation, Amara. Chela...the woman I had that pendant made for...and Eph. And I find that the more I get to know you, the more I find myself caring about you."

I froze.

"So don't betray me like Chela did," Dumah said shortly. Then he smiled.

"So your dress is ready. Go back to your quarters and get your things ready. We'll depart for Rahab's tomorrow."

I nodded, and left the room, leaving Dumah to his memories.


	11. Chapter X

**Chapter X**

After I packed, I figured it would be a great idea to get some sleep. I tossed and turned for what felt like hours. I was anxious about going to Rahab's...I was anxious about the tensions between Raziel and Dumah...and I was definitely anxious about Dumah. I felt like I had to always toe the line with him...say the right thing...and I always felt like what I had said was the wrong thing around him. I wondered what Rahab was like—was he, like Dumah, gentle until provoked? Was he cool and calculating like Raziel, or sweet like Eph...?

Finally, I managed to fall asleep. But when I dreamed, the dreams weren't pleasant as they had been for the past few nights. I was haunted by images of blood and death, so vivid that I could have sworn that I was not dreaming. And in the worst dream of all, I saw that woman, Dragon, killing me and Ice while a man I couldn't see laughed.

My eyes snapped open after that dream. I shook my head, trying to clear the images, telling myself that it was all just a dream. There was a faint light streaming in through my window—it must have been dusk. I heard a faint knocking at my door. Groaning, I climbed out of bed and opened it. There was Dumah, looking down at me, arms crossed over his chest. He looked amused.

"Well."

"Well, what?"

"You're up early."

"So're you."

Dumah's smile only grew broader. Was this it? Was Dumah going to kill me now? I closed my eyes and bit my lip...and Dumah laughed.

"Goodness, girl. I smile at you and you think I'm going to kill you!"

_What am I supposed to think? That was a very predatory smile..._

Dumah shook his head, chuckled, and noticed that the pendant he'd given me wasn't around my neck.

"Amara...does my gift not please you?"

"Oh!" There was a nightstand in the little room that Dumah had given me. I'd set the necklace there, not wanting to sleep in it and risk choking. I quickly picked it up and put it on, hoping I hadn't offended Dumah.

"That pendant looks fetching on you," he said when I'd put it on.

"Thank...you..."

Dumah nodded, then told me he'd be sending a slave to get my things, so I was welcome to accompany him down to the carriage we'd be taking. I followed him, mutely, trying to think of something, anything to say. Dumah noticed my uneasiness.

"Amara. Remember, you have that pendant. If anything at all goes wrong, just hold it and will me to be by your side, and I'll be there."

I didn't tell him that I wasn't reassured. What was the point?

I followed Dumah outside, and toward the carriage. It wasn't there yet. Dumah seemed miffed, muttering something about punctuality.

"At least you're on time," he said, looking me straight in the eye.

"I...do try to keep you happy, Dumah." _Because if I don't you'll gut me._

He chuckled again. "You do." He absentmindedly traced my jaw with a clawed finger. I shivered, unsure of what he was about to do.

"You jumpy thing," he said, "I don't intend to harm you. No, no. I've become too fond of you."

I looked up at him. "Too...fond...?"

"You talk too much." Dumah said simply. Before I could react, he pulled me to him and kissed me. Note then when I say he kissed me, I don't mean an innocent Boy-Scout kiss. Finally, Dumah broke it off, and, seeing the shocked look on my face, he smiled.

"You look shocked, Amara."

"You're way too old for me," I blurted out. Dumah blinked, and then laughed, so loudly that a few slaves looked around to see what had put their lord in a such a good mood.

"Perhaps where you come from," Dumah said, when he had finally caught his breath, "But here,you're old enough to be married."

I was about to reply, but the carriage, with all of our luggage already on it, pulled up, with what looked like a vampire at the reins.

"Forgive me, Sire," he said, "It was entirely my fault--"

"Later," Dumah said, dismissively waving his hand. He climbed up into the carriage and offered me his hand. "Come on, Amara."

Hesitating, I took his hand and climbed in. The carriage was ornate, with red velvet seats and a gilded interior. I'd never been inside a carriage before, and I stared in wonder.

"You like it?"

"Yes..." I breathed. I wondered what riding in it was going to be like. I took a seat, next to the window, and Dumah sat across from me. After a few minutes, I heard a whip crack, and the carriage started moving. To my surprise, the ride wasn't as bumpy as I expected.

"Enjoying the ride?" Dumah asked, after a minute. I nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Good," he purred.

I looked out the window. It had been a long time since I had seen the world outside Dumah's keep—unfortunately, it was the dead of night and so I saw nothing but the silhouettes of the trees and the occasional star. I was exhausted, for some reason, and since the gentle movement of the carriage was strangely relaxing, I fell fast asleep. Thankfully, there were no dreams this time.

I was awakened by Dumah gently shaking my shoulder. "We're here." I yawned, and stretched, blinking a few times. Dumah helped me climb out of the carriage. Directly in front of me was a huge castle that towered over a vast expanse of marshland.

"Rahab's second palace," Dumah said, "Normally, he and his brood live in the Drowned Abbey, but as he's the only vampire that water doesn't harm and since he can be considered a "social butterfly"...well, he had another palace built so that he could hold parties."

He started walking toward the entrance, and he motioned for me to follow. As we neared the doors, a pair of guards greeted Dumah, ignored me, and swung the doors wide open. Dumah led me down various corridors, all of which were decorated extravagantly. I saw a few servants adding even more decorations. Finally, Dumah reached a set of double doors, which he flung open. There was a vampire with reading glasses and long, long black hair tied back in a loose ponytail, immersed in a book. He was dressed the same way as Dumah, but his cape was teal, and had a different symbol on it. He heard the doors open, and looked up. "Brother. My, my, my. You're unusually early. And I see you've brought a guest..." He closed the book, took off the glasses, and stood up, pacing around me. "Boyish, isn't she? Not as voluptuous as the women you usually bring, either... and a little young for your taste, hm? My, but she has a pretty face...give her a few years and I imagine she'll be a great beauty. If you tire of her by then, may I have her?"

I stared at Rahab. _Pretty? Pretty? _Dumah was chuckling. "Rahab. This is...Amara. Amara...this is my brother, Rahab."

"Pleased to meet you," Rahab purred. He was quite attractive, with a long face and high cheekbones...and green eyes. There was a look of intelligence in his eyes, but also one of flirtatiousness. I had a feeling that he, like Dumah, was as likely to kill me as he was to look at me, so I just smiled, and giggled. I sure was getting good at acting like a simpering girl when people expected me to.

"Oh, Dumah, she's adorable..." Rahab said, moving closer to me and tipping my face up so that he could see it better. "She's a fine specimen...perhaps I'll take her from you..."

Dumah shook his head, obviously irritated that Rahab was moving in on what he deemed to be his property...in this case, me. "Why can't you prefer books to women, brother?"

"Why can't I love both?" Rahab shot back. "Both are beautiful in their own ways. Both have something to offer me, and I find that I enjoy both." He smiled at me, then at Dumah, then curtly told us where our rooms were, and that we should find some way to occupy ourselves because the party wasn't going to start until tomorrow. One of Rahab's maids showed me where to go, and I decided that I wanted to do nothing but sleep. On the way, though, Dumah stopped me.

"My dear...it's nowhere near dawn. And you slept the whole way here."

"I'm tired, Dumah," I said, "I...had trouble sleeping last night." _Those nightmares hadn't exactly made sleeping easy..._

"But you slept all the way here," Dumah purred. "Surely..."

I sighed. "What do you want, anyway?"

He grinned mischievously. "What do you think I want?"

I groaned. _Not this game again._

"Very well. Go get some sleep, Amara. I wouldn't want you to be tired." I thanked him, and turned to go on my way, but before I could, Dumah caught my arm and pulled me to him again. He kissed me again, more gently than before, and then walked off toward his own room.


	12. Chapter XI

**Chapter XI**

The next day went by very quickly. It was clear to me that Rahab's parties were a big thing for these vampires, and probably for the human slaves as well. I spent the entire day being primped and pampered by a group of Rahab's servants. First, they drew a bath for me, with hot water. I spent maybe an hour in the bath, relaxing, and thinking. I wondered if Ice was all right. I wondered how I ended up in this situation. I wondered if Dumah was really interested in me. I wondered how I was going to get home. Or if I was going to get home at all.

When I got out of the bath I was assaulted with various lotions and powders by the maids, who assured me that they were simply mosturizing my skin. The next thing they did was lace me into my corset. This took some time, as they were anything but gentle. Everything they did seemed rushed. After they laced me into my corset (and after I'd begged them to let me take a few minutes to breathe), they began to hand me various petticoats and underthings.

"What's all this?" I asked.

"In case you hadn't noticed, dear," said an older woman with graying hair, "the gown you brought with you has a fairly full skirt. Seeing as how you didn't pack petticoats of your own, we're supplying you with some. Fortunately, some of these are just long enough..."

I blinked. The dress Eph had given me had a narrow skirt that clung to my legs. "Excuse me?"

"You _did _bring a gown with you, didn't you, Lady?"

I nodded. "But that one had a narrow skirt..."

"We saw no such dress among your personal effects, Lady," the maid interrupted. "We saw many informal dresses, but there is none appropriate for an occasion such as this with them."

My blood froze in my veins. Was there a mixup? I had no idea how Dumah would react to my wearing a dress that was not the one he had given to me. I was about to protest again when the maids shoved me behind a screen and proceeded to pull a dress over my head. This dress laced in the back, and had a very full skirt, and sleeves that ended at my elbow and had a large amount of lace at the end. The dress itself resembled a dress I'd seen in a painting of Marie Antoinette...except this dress was a hideous shade of seafoam teal and the stomacher was a pastel pink.

"I can't wear this!" I said, "This is...this is..."

" Would you prefer to go naked, Lady?" asked the maid who'd given me the dress.

"Well, no, but..."

"Now come back out from the other side of that screen, we still have to apply your cosmetics! And maybe we'll give you a false plait, if we can find one in the right color."

I groaned, and came out. The next twenty minutes was spent applying my makeup, which I was not allowed to see. The ladies couldn't find me a false plait, so they styled my hair as best they could, and, finally, they allowed me to look in a mirror.

I looked like an escapee from a dress rehearsal of a Mozart opera. Except for my short hair.

"I can't go out like this!"

"'Tis not like you have a choice, Lady."

I sighed, crossed my arms, and walked toward the door. I was about to turn the handle when I realized that I had forgotten something. Dumah's pendant. I quickly ran back toward the nightstand I had left it on, grabbed it, and put it on, taking one more look in the mirror before I went out. The pendant didn't match the gown at all, but I felt safer wearing it.

There was a knock on my door just then. I hurried to open it and found Dumah standing there. He was wearing a short, fitted black tunic with violet trim that left very little to the imagination, black leggings, and black pirate boots. His hair was neatly pulled back. He took one look at me and shook his head.

"That isn't the dress you brought, is it?"

"No, but the maids said it was the only formal gown I have with me..." I blushed and looked down.

"You're wearing the pendant, at least," Dumah said, "Good." Then he took my arm and led me outside.

"So, if you're wearing that dress...what happened to the one I gave you?"

"I've no idea." Really, I didn't.

"I suspect mischief," Dumah said, "Although...you don't look _that_ bad..."

He led me down to a ballroom which was already full of vampires. There were even musicians, playing instruments not unlike those a string quartet back home would have had. They were playing a surprisingly lively minuet.

Some of the vampire women were dressed the way I was, although their dresses were in different colors. This made me feel a little less self-conscious. Some of the vampire women were dressed in clingly, revealing gowns. No one took notice of me, not until Dumah took me onto the dance floor.

"Look! That's her!"

"Is that Dumah's human pet? I'd expected someone...shorter..."

"Are we even sure it's female?"

"I'd like to find out..."

"Pay them no mind, Amara," Dumah said, "Just...stay close..."

It was at that moment that Rahab approached us. "Mind if I cut in, Dumah?"

Dumah glared at him.

"Just for a moment, dear brother? Just for the remainder of this tune?"

Dumah sighed. "Very well."

Almost at once, Rahab pulled me away from Dumah and led me into a very enthusiastic waltz.

"So...do you like your dress?"

"Excuse me?"

"Do you like your dress?"

I bit my lip, and thought of how to answer. The truth would likely offend him, and the last thing I wanted was to offend my host. But if I lied...

"It's no matter," Rahab said dismissively, "You're wearing it. There's the proof."

"My other dress was missing."

"You don't say. Was it blue?"

"Yes..." I said, now more than a little suspicious.

"Well, the maids must have switched it out with this one. Which is odd, because I told them to put it in your trunk..."

I laughed then. What else was there to do?

Rahab and I didn't speak for the rest of the waltz, and, after it was over, he led me back toward Dumah, thanking me for dancing with him, but we were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Amara, is that you?"

I turned around, and found Ice standing beside me. She was wearing what looked like a very skimpy bellydancer's costume. "Ice?"

"It is you! My God. You look like you escaped from the set of _Le Nozze di Figaro_ or something."

"Tell me about it," I muttered. Then I smiled. "How's life with Raziel?"

"Amazing! Seriously. He's the coolest boyfriend I've ever had!"

_Boyfriend?_ I could only laugh even more. Raziel came toward us, saw me, laughed, and quickly regained his composure.

"Well...that's a change for you, isn't it?" he chuckled. I glared at him, then smiled.

"Now, now...let's get along," Dumah said, appearing behind me. He held two glasses of a dark red substance and handed one to me. "Don't worry. It's wine. Really." He smiled, and took a sip, motioning for me to do the same. I squeezed my eyes shut, put the glass to my lips...and took a sip of the most delicious red wine I have ever tasted. Dumah chuckled.

"I told you."

I finished my wine and handed the glass to a human servant walking by, and I was about to go dance when the music stopped. Rahab was standing on the bandstand. Was he about to make an announcement?

"I have an announcement to make!"

Yup.

"Those of you who have been to my parties before know what's about to go on...those of you who have not, if you'll come to the front, please?"

Ice and I cautiously moved toward the bandstand. There were a few others who did, too. Rahab smiled.

"Quite a few new faces. This is good." He smiled broadly, displaying his white teeth. "You do not know what is about to take place, but rest assured that it is magnificent!" Rahab clapped, and a young pageboy with an armful of masks hurried into the ballroom. "We will now begin the masquerade portion of the evening!"

I looked at Ice. "Changing to a masquerade ball? In the middle of everything?"

"Raziel assures me that this is normal, although Rahab usually doesn't wait until the middle of the evening to begin the masquerade," Ice said.

The pageboy was coming toward us. I took a black, feathered mask from him and held it. It was lovely, almost too lovely to wear. Ice had taken another feathered mask. Hers was red.

I looked around the room. There were several pageboys, all handing masks to the guests. Rahab looked quite pleased. "I don't want to see any new faces!" he boomed, "Or old ones, for that matter! Get those masks on!"

I didn't need any more encouragement. After we all had our masks on, Rahab put on his. His was an exquisite, jewel-encrusted seahorse mask. "Now then. Let the festivities continue!" He clapped again, and the band resumed playing.

"I suppose we should find our vampires," Ice said.

"Good idea."

I walked into the throng of vampires and looked around. One of them had to be Dumah, didn't it?

Someone grabbed my arm and led me into a waltz. He was wearing a terrifying gold mask, one that was, to me, reminiscent of a Japanese demon mask. I thought, at first, that he was Dumah. He was wearing the same tunic as Dumah, except that it was trimmed with red. He was also much more aggressive than Dumah had ever been. He held me so tightly that it hurt. I noticed that he was wearing an earring. Dumah didn't have an earring. I tried to pull away from him, but his response was to hold on tighter.

"Let me go!" I said, struggling against him.

"I have a few questions for you, dear girl..." the vampire purred in a silky smooth voice. "It would be wise for you to stop struggling..."

"Look!" shouted a female voice that could have been any vampire, "That human is dancing with Lord Kain!"

_Lord Kain?_


	13. Chapter XII

**CHAPTER XII**

Kain gripped my arm more tightly and pulled me off of the dance floor and behind a column. He calmly removed his mask. His white skin had a slight green tint to it, and I wasn't sure if that was because of the light or if it was because his skin actually. I could see a faint bone crest forming on his forehead. With his long, white hair, he sort of reminded me of an albino _Star Trek _alien, but I thought it would be a good idea to not share that with him.

"Take off your mask."

I could only obey him. I took the mask off and dropped it to the floor.

"I have been watching you since your arrival. How did you come to this place?"

"I..I don't know!" I stammered, "I...I was with my friend, with Ice, and someone _pulled _us here."

Kain crossed his arms. I had a feeling that he didn't believe a word that I was saying.

"I'm not lying to you! I don't know how we got here, and if you think I used some kind of freaky voodoo to transport myself here, you'd be wrong! I hate it here. I don't want to be here, and I want to go home! If I were going to use some kind of magic to transport myself somewhere, I'd have gone to the Bahamas!"

Kain's response was to grab me by the throat and hold me up against the wall. "Allow me to explain something to you, _girl. _When you arrived here, there was a certain kind of spike in Nosgoth's energy. A very specific one. One I've not felt in nearly a thousand years..."

I clawed at his hand, struggling to get enough air to speak.

"What does that have to do with me?" I panted. "I'm only fifteen. I'm no magician. I'm just an ordinary girl, and if I had my way I'd be home, safe in bed...I'm no invader, no threat!"

Kain did not let me go. He didn't loosen his grip, either. I was grateful, though, that he had not tightened his grip on my throat. I felt the coolness of the pendant Dumah had given me against my skin, and I remembered what Dumah had said when he gave it to me.

_If you need me, ever, hold that pendant in your hand and will me to come to you._

Still gasping for air, I reached for the pendant and squeezed it in my palm, wishing with all my heart that Dumah was by my side. Part of me hoped, also, that he would at the very least be able to talk his lord into putting me down.

Kain tightened his grip just then. I still clawed at his hand but it was getting so much harder to do so. I was losing consciousness fast. I still held fast to the pendant, but if Dumah didn't come soon...

_Please, Dumah. I need you! _

Finally, it became too difficult to focus on Dumah and keep breathing. I could feel myself slipping out of consciousness. The pendant dropped out of my hand...and then...

"Amara!"

That was not Dumah's voice. It sounded more feminine, more like...like Ice.

Kain immediately released me, turning around to face Ice, and I slid down the wall. When I reached the ground, my knees buckled and I fell flat on my face. I didn't care. I was still alive and still breathing. I couldn't stand up just then, though. It was too much energy.

I heard another rush of footfalls, and I heard Dumah's voice. "Amara...are you all right?" He knelt beside me and gently rolled me over. I could see concern in his eyes. And...something else. Something I couldn't put my finger on...something that made me uneasy.

"Dumah..."

"I'm sorry that I didn't come sooner," he whispered, "I had...trouble...finding you. Dragon was using her magic to prevent me from sensing that you needed me."

_Dragon? _

Someone laughed derisively. I looked up, away from Dumah, and saw Dragon standing behind Ice. She was wearing what looked like an 18th century men's costume with a blue jacket and a lacy, high-collared white shirt. and no mask. Kain made some kind of signal to her, and she grinned wickedly. I opened my mouth to warn Ice, and Dumah clamped his mouth down on mine, drawing me into a kiss. This was a different kiss than before, much more forceful, even painful. The more I struggled, the harder he kissed me.

And so it was that I could only watch in horror as Dragon pulled out a stiletto from inside her jacket and drove it into Ice's throat.

Ice gasped, and collapsed as Dragon withdrew the stiletto. She licked the blood from the knife before she put it back in her jacket. I used all my remaining strength to push myself away from Dumah, pick myself up off of the ground, and run to Ice. I knelt beside her and gently held her.

"Ice...Ice..."

She looked so shocked. She couldn't speak. Blood frothed at the corners of her mouth. She moved her lips, forming soundless words that I couldn't make out. I heard her voice in my head, like when we first arrived in Nosgoth, but this time her voice was faint and disoriented.

_This isn't how it's supposed to be! This isn't...fair..._ Her voice, or, rather, her thoughts stopped then.

She shuddered once, and was still.

I knew she was dead.

Dumah stood up and walked over to me. He lifted me up by the back of my dress and twisted my arms behind my back.

"My Lord," Dumah said, "As I promised, here is the girl."

_What?_

"You did not deliver her to me as you promised, Dumah," Kain said. "In fact, I was able to get ahold of her on my own..."

"I prevented her escape, did I not?" Dumah countered. "I won her trust. I have told you everything about her there is to know."

Kain laughed quietly. "That you did. But you did not bring her to me."

"She is still in your possession now."

"This is true. I may reward you yet."

Dragon approached me and pulled a pair of shackles out from inside her jacket. She easily shackled my hands behind my back.

"If you'll come with me," Kain said quietly, letting his silk-smooth voice linger on every syllable. Kain walked away, and Dragon pushed me along behind him. I looked back and saw Ice's body on the floor, in a pool of blood. And I saw Dumah still standing there by Ice's body. He was expressionless. I wondered how he could have lived with himself. I wondered how I could have been so naive to think that someone like him could actually have cared about me.

"Turn around!" Dragon snarled. She gave me a rough shove and I nearly fell to my knees. She pulled me back up and dragged me along.

I thought of my mother just then. More specifically, I thought of something she'd told me when I'd started dating Sawyer.

_Men are all the same, Amara. They'd as soon use you as love you. You need to be careful with your heart. Remember that._

* * *

I spent the next few days locked in a dungeon beneath one of Kain's palaces. I had a cell to myself. That was my only luxury. I lived on bread crusts and water, and I was subjected to constant verbal abuse from the guards. Even the human guards treated me terribly. One took my blanket because I had spoken to him out of turn. Another had thrown my food onto the floor, after asking me if I wanted better food.

That was not the worst of it. The worst was when I would be taken to an interrogation room and Kain would ask me the same questions, always asking me about any abnormal abilities I had. I finally just stopped answering questions. Kain threatened to torture me, assuring me that he could easily beat the truth out of me. I still would not answer him. I had told him everything I could. Still, I was afraid of being tortured...what human being isn't afraid of pain?

I lost track of time in that cell. One day, Kain himself came to the cell and pulled me out. He dragged me to the same room, and I was afraid of what he would do to me. The room was small, and made of cold, gray stone. There were no windows. It was lit by a pair of torches on every wall, and it had a heavy steel door, which Kain closed behind him. In the center of the room was a round, wooden table with two wooden chairs, one on either side.

"Sit down," he purred. I obeyed. I was going to do my best to not let him see how afraid I was.

"We're going to try something different today."

I waited patiently for him to continue.

He sat down across from me and held up a cloth bag. He opened it and pulled out what looked like a deck of cards, which he shuffled carefully. He then laid five of them face down on the table.

"These are Tarot cards," he said. "You told me that you have some proficiency with these. We're going to, ah, up the stakes a bit. I want you to tell me what those cards are. You don't have to tell me what they mean. Just tell me what they are."

"I can't do that!" I protested. Kain narrowed his eyes and leaned across the table.

"You'll do as I tell you. Focus on the cards. I'm very certain that you'll know what these cards are."

I licked my lips and looked at the cards. I could see only that they were solid black, and, then I started thinking.

_...The Tower. The Moon. The Star. The Lovers...and Death...but what order are they in?_

I decided to take my chances. "The first card is The Moon..." I whispered.

"Which?" Kain said, "Speak up!" I knew he'd heard me the first time, but I dared not argue with him.

"It's The Moon," I said, louder.

"Are you sure?" Kain asked. I nodded and gulped. Kain slowly turned the card over and held his hand over it.

"One last chance, Amara..."

"It's The Moon. I'm sure of it!"

He lifted his hand and showed me the card. To my amazement, I saw that it was, indeed, The Moon.

"Now, what's the next one?"

"The Lovers," I said quickly, almost automatically. He turned the card over. "Very good. And this one?"

"Death."

"Good. And this?"

"The Star."

"Good. And the last one?"

"It's The Tower," I sighed. Kain smiled, set the five cards aside, and set down five more.

"We're going to go through the deck like this," he said.

He stood by his word. It got to the point where I was predicting what cards were what before he even laid them down. I missed a few, of course, but I was right more often than not. Kain finally put the cards down and stared at me.

"This place makes whatever intuition you have stronger," he said, finally. He pulled one last card out of the bag, but he didn't lay it face down. Instead, he showed it to me. There was a runic symbol on it that I had never seen. It looked like a set of parenthesis, with one being longer than the other. There was a pair of wavy lines, like what might symbolize water in between them.

"Does this symbol mean anything to you?"

As I looked at it, I could feel a faint recognition. Indeed, I felt drawn to it. But I had never seen it before. I opened my mouth to say that I had never seen it before, but Kain held up a hand. I was silent.

"I can see in your face that this symbol means something to you. But you don't know what that is, do you?" Kain whispered. He put the card away. Then he grabbed me and yanked me from the chair.

"I'll take you back to your cell now. Maybe that will give you something to say."


	14. Chapter XIII

**CHAPTER XIII**

I curled up on my cot after Kain had left me. I thought of everything that had happened in the last few days (weeks? months?) and finally allowed myself to cry. This wasn't how it was supposed to be! I was supposed to be home, safe and warm in bed. I was supposed to be worrying about getting my algebra homework done, or about whether this boy or that boy liked me instead of worrying about how much longer I was going to live or whether I was going to get beaten or raped or worse...

I wrapped my arms around myself, digging my nails into the flesh. I couldn't cry. I couldn't! I needed to figure out how to get out of this situation and get home. Maybe I did bring myself into this world. Maybe it was all me. Maybe I could get myself home.

I heard heavy footsteps outside my cell, and the rattle of keys. It wasn't mealtime, I knew. Surely Kain wouldn't be back already? I didn't think I'd been in the cell for that long. I heard the keys hit the ground, and a muffled curse. Then, whoever it was opened the door. I waited, and I allowed myself to hope for the first time since Ice had died.

When Rahab strode into my cell like he owned it, I nearly fainted.

"I know I'm handsome, dear girl But that's no reason to faint on me..."

"Don't give yourself so much credit," muttered another, more familiar voice. My heart almost stopped as I saw Raziel walk into the cell.

"Why...why are you here?" I whispered.

"Well..Dumah has these strange ideas about honor. It occurred to him that what he did to you was very dishonorable," Rahab explained, "So he asked us to, ah, get you out of here."

"Don't go thinking he loves you," Raziel warned. "Dumah felt guilty for betraying you. He feels guilty every time he betrays someone. He's just never asked any of us to do something foolhardy like this on his behalf."

"Why did you agree with him? What's in it for you?" I asked.

"Well..." Rahab began, "Living forever makes life dull. It's the same, day in and day out. Being a little rebellious and helping you escape will certainly provide me with a little entertainment..."

"I owe Dumah a favor," Raziel muttered.

"Won't you get into trouble for helping me?"

"Kain always seems to know everything before it happens," Rahab said. "I imagine that he's probably already aware that we've beaten up a guard and stolen the keys. He probably knows we're here, and he'll probably have sent someone to stop us from breaking you out..."

"Indeed he has," said a smooth, female voice. Dragon appeared from behind Raziel and walked into the cell. "You both know that there could be serious consequences for this."

Rahab shrugged. "And Kain could find this whole thing highly amusing and let us off with a slap on the wrist."

"Is that a chance you're willing to take?" Dragon growled. She drew a sword and held it against Rahab's throat.

"If you kill us, or the girl, it'll be worse for you," Raziel pointed out.

"Kain values me as a servant. If his precious lieutenants openly defied him, well, I'd be rewarded for disposing of them, wouldn't I..."

"The only order regarding this girl that Kain gave was that she is not to be harmed," Rahab countered. Dragon pressed the sword against his throat, hard enough to draw blood.

"I'm sure he'd consider your breaking her out to be an act of treason..."

I looked around the room while they argued. There was a metal bucket that I'd been using as a chamberpot in the corner. One of the kinder guards had emptied it for me earlier. I'd not used it since. I looked at the bucket. Then at Dragon. She was heavily involved in her argument with Raziel and Rahab. She might not notice if I rushed her...maybe if I hit her hard enough...

_Enough thinking. _

I picked up the bucket and ran at Dragon with it. I quickly swung it over my head and struck her hard in the back of the head with it. I heard a sharp _crack! _and Dragon collapsed. I then threw the bucket aside. "Well, let's go then!" I said. Raziel and Rahab nodded. I started running, with the two vampires beside me.

"You're so slow!" Rahab said after a few minutes. "Here." He lifted me into his arms and carried me.

I was apprehensive. I wondered if Raziel and Rahab's appearance might not be a trap. I wondered if Kain really did have some kind of omniscience. Wouldn't he _know_, then? And what would happen to Rahab and Raziel? Maybe they were in on this, too...

We reached what I assumed was a ballroom in this palace when we met Kain. He was standing at the top of the stairs.

"I've been waiting for you..." Kain purred. Rahab set me down.

"See, I told you he knew..." he said quietly.

"I knew when the girl arrived here what would happen," Kain said with a smirk. "I'm amused that you found the loophole in my commands, Rahab...and as for you, girl, I am amused that you were able to dispatch Dragon so easily..."

I wondered, then, how much of the knowledge of the future that he seemed to possess he passed on to Dragon. He must have omitted a lot, if it had been so easy for me to knock her out. Unless it was another trap.

"Are you going to...punish them?" I said quietly.

Kain shook his head. "This is not where or how...but it doesn't matter."

I suddenly understood what he meant. I knew from Ice's playing of the game that something terrible was going to befall Raziel, and I assumed that meant that something was going to happen to Rahab, too. I didn't want to be there for that. Who knew how soon it would be that the terrible things would befall my benefactors?

"Send me home!" I said, "I know you can!" It was a bluff, but...

"Are you so sure? Maybe you're trapped here, girl..."

"You can send me home! I know you can!" I rushed at him then. I had every intention of ripping him apart with my bare hands, first for bringing me to this Godforsaken world and second, for having Ice killed. I reached him, swung at him, and he easily threw me off of the stairs with a telekinetic bolt. I hit my head hard on the floor, and saw a blinding flash of white light...and then everything went black...

_Did I die? _I thought. I felt warm, much warmer than I had in Nosgoth. _I always thought that Death would be colder. _I tried to move my fingers. When I could, I noticed that I was under a blanket. It felt like a rather nice, cotton/polyester blanket..

_Huh? Cotton?_

I opened my eyes and sat up. To my amazement, I was in Ice's room, on a cot, wearing my jeans and tube top. My collar was on her dresser. I looked up and saw Ice fast asleep in her bed. She looked a little paler than usual, but it might have been the light. The room was bathed in the faint light of that time just as the sun is rising. I flopped back down onto the cot. I started laughing. Ice stirred, and sat up.

"What's so funny? Are you having some kind of crazy dream?"

"I had the craziest dream," I affirmed. "I dreamed I was in Nosgoth, in your game, and that you were there, and that you died and that Kain had me locked up..." I stopped when I heard Ice laughing.

"I had that dream, too!" She was laughing hard, and for a moment I could have sworn that her canine teeth were longer and pointier than I remembered them being. "Except, in my dream, I was Raziel's grilfriend and after I died, he turned me..." She sighed and rolled over. "It's five in the morning. Go back to sleep."

"I'm so glad it was just a dream," I sighed, laying back down. I noticed there was a weight in my pocket. Curious, I reached in and felt something like a small metal chain. I slowly pulled it out.

My eyes widened when I saw what it was. I quickly put my hand over my mouth to muffle a cry. I could not, could not believe what I was seeing. Ice's new pallor and sharper teeth suddenly made a lot more sense.

The thing I'd pulled out of my pocket was a round amethyst pendant, set in silver, and attached to a thin silver chain...

**FIN.**


End file.
